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There
are three different types of carpenter ants, all have
the same characteristics. They need water and wood to
survive. they do not eat raw wood like a termite,
so don't worry about your home collapsing around you.
Carpenter ants make nests in damp or rotted wood.
Especially around fascia boards that have water damage.
After making a nest they may begin to swarm inside your
home through air conditioning vents, ceiling fans,
windows, electrical outlets, etc. Or, you may just see a
few stragglers around glass sliding doors.
Carpenter ant eggs can be brought in with bags of mulch
(cypress mulch or bark). They also nest
in wooden decks, fences, trellis work and trees
(especially dead ones).
Behavior
Carpenter ants feed on a wide variety of foods,
especially other insects. The favored food of adults is
the sweet honeydew produced by plant-feeding insects,
such as aphids, scales, and mealybugs. In the spring,
mature colonies produce winged reproductive ants, called
swarmers, that fly out to start new colonies. These
swarms often occur from satellite colonies within homes,
so homeowners may see large flying ants in their homes
at night. Carpenter ants can be very difficult to
control, so most homeowners employ the services of a
professional company such as Rebel
Exterminators.
Habitat Carpenter ants are the
most common pest ant seen in homes throughout the
northern United States. The main colony must have a
constant source of moisture to survive, so it is usually
located in dead wood outside. This includes dead limbs,
tree holes, stumps, landscape timbers, and so forth.
Indoors, a main colony will have to be associated with a
water leak or an overly wet, poorly ventilated crawl
space or attic.The main colony may establish satellite
colonies that are the primary source of ant activity
inside homes.These satellite colonies may be located in
any suitable void (e.g., hollow doors, curtain rods,
shower rods), under attic insultation, etc.These ants
set up trunk trails between the main colony to satellite
colonies and between satellite colonies. Foraging ants
can most easily be seen along these trunk trails at
night when the ants are most active. Sometimes, the
trunk trails occur beneath the ground following tree
roots.
Tips for Control Successfully
controlling carpenter ants requires certain skills,
knowledge and experience. Carpenter ant control involves
tracking down and treating as many satellite colonies as
possible inside and outside of the home as well as
attempting to find and treat the parent colony.
Accessing the parent colony may be difficult because it
might be located high in a tree or on a neighboring
property. In such cases, your service professional may
use carpenter ant baits, but these may have varying
results because of the carpenter ants finicky feeding
habits. If conditions on your property (such as a large
number of trees) create a high risk for reinfestation,
your service professional may recommend regular pest
management services to help prevent new infestations.
These tips will help you limit carpenter ant
infestation:
- Store
any firewood away from your home and remove any dead
wood or wood scraps from around the foundation.
- Trim
dead limbs from trees and remove stumps. Rid your
yard of these potential nesting sites.
- Make
sure that all plumbing or roof leaks are sealed, and
check crawl spaces for excess moisture.
- Water
from rain gutters should be directed away from your
home and not be allowed to accumulate close to the
foundation
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